Raiders finally bag that first victory
ONE of the longest winless sequences in Welsh sport ended over the weekend with a flurry of tries and much jubilation amid talk of a breakthrough result.
Never before had the West Wales Raiders rugby league team triumphed on the field.
Their grim losing run spanned 43 games and the leaking of 2,871 points since their re-branding in 2017, with a low being reached over a two-week spell last year which saw them concede 266 points – succumbing by a reported world-record 144-0 to York City Knights and 122-0 to Bradford Bulls.
But they brought in highly regarded Australian coach Kim Williams for the present campaign and on Saturday that elusive first triumph came with a surprisingly emphatic 44-16 Betfred League 1 success over Coventry Bears.
There were eight tries for the hosts at Stebonheath Park in Llanelli as a matchday squad containing nine Welshmen finally plotted a route to victory.
Williams, a former high performance manager of NRL side Melbourne Storm, said: “It’s a result to give everyone at the club encouragement.
“It means a huge amount to me, because my wife and I took a risk in coming here for me to take up this position.
“There again, it’s not about me. It’s about the club, and the best thing about the win was to see the joy on the faces of the players, supporters and sponsors.
Watch the wild scenes at the final whistle
“We had been improving over a while, so the success wasn’t a complete shock. But to win as we did was a pleasant surprise.
“It was almost like winning a grand final.”
The Bears had scored 92 points over two games with the Raiders last year but it was a different story this time.
There were two home tries apiece for Ashley Bateman and Archie Snook and one each for Dalton Desmond-Walker, Morgan Evans, Mitchell Shaw and Steve Parry as the Welsh side overpowered their visitors.
“The thing is, we need to build on this now,” said Williams, who has Welsh roots with a grandfather born in Swansea.
“We all know the performances haven’t been quite where they should have been in the past but our support has been great and my boss has helped keep me sane and we’ve all just kept working.
“This could be the shot of confidence we need.
“There are some great people here, hard-working people who understand the challenge, and I’m pleased for them more than anything else.
“We have to keep pushing on.”